We have to go back to Isak, in Finland. Isak was born out of wedlock to Liisa Greta Lahti Yliniemi on September 19, 1857. His mother was a widow who farmed, and his father was a farmhand named Juho Mattias Ala.
In June of 1880 he began the first leg of his trip to America. Young men were being drafted, Finland was under Russian rule at this time. Isak crossed the river to Sweden and shortly after that made a raft out of logs and along with several friends they floated down the Muonio and Torino rivers to get on a sailing ship to America. He was not only illegitimate but a draft dodger.
He arrived in New York City..traveled on and settled in French Lake Minnesota. He became sick with typhoid fever. After he recovered he helped to build the Apostolic Lutheran Church in French Lake. He met Margaretta while working on the church and they were married November 29, 1885.
Margaretta was born April 3, 1867 in Finland to Briita Lissa and Alexander Impola. Isak would have been 28 and Margaretta would have been 18 years old when they were married.
They would become parents to thirteen children. While in French Lake Margaretta would give birth to six children, Greta who died as an infant, Maria, Joseph, Samuel, Isacki and Mikael.
Times were tough, so Isak decided to move his family north. He traveled with two horses, a colt, cook stove, barrel of salt pork, and three small children Marie ( Mary) age nine, Joe age 7 and Sam (My Grandfather) age 5. They travelled 170 miles north on wilderness roads, he homesteaded a parcel of land in Toad Lake Township Becker County Minnesota. He built a 10’ x 10’ home for Margaretta. She followed by train in October of 1896 with Isacki age 4 and Mikeal age 2. Isak was late picking her up in New York Mills..and while she was waiting she gave birth to John.
Imagine her thoughts of six children in a 10’ x 10’ house? She had to put the children outside while she made their beds. Levi, Ethel, Esther, Ida, Charles and William would join the family. Isak would build her a larger house:)
* Thanks to my sister Julie and my cousin Will for their tireless research.
They were a hardy lot in those days. It's amazing that you were still able to find out Isak was born out of wedlock. These days it's so common that nobody would notice! :-)
ReplyDeleteWe (at least I) cannot imagine the life that those pioneers led. Simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. They were a hearty breed of people.
ReplyDeleteWonderful to know your family history like this ! Now those days were hard times ! Thanks for sharing with us it was a good read and interesting wonderful old photo to ! Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteP.S Love your header !
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful, I aways enjoy family history and pictures, Francine.
ReplyDeleteI love your family history posts and the photos are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteSo cool! And many of the immigrants came here to escape the Russian drafts and based on what I've read thank goodness they did! My mother's ancestors did the same thing about the same time.
ReplyDeleteMy paternal grandfather also came to the United States to avoid the draft. That was in Denmark.
ReplyDeleteIt does astound us now in our so simple, so comfortable lives how hard it was for so many people...
ReplyDelete13 kids, and all after 28 years old.
Jen
I can't enough of these historical vignettes! Think you'll ever make them into a book?
ReplyDeletePeace,
Muff
Fascinating! Margaretta was one tough lady. The way I read that, she must have had six more kids after she turned forty. That's impressive, she has my sympathy:( How old was she when she died? ( 13 kids, after she was 28, that's got to take a toll on a body).
ReplyDeleteShe died in 1944 that would make her 87 years old :)
DeleteWow, that's pretty amazing. You are from hardy stock!
DeleteAmazing that you found such details. more amazing the rugged life they lived. If I had to live under the conditions they lived in I'd be on the ground crying.
ReplyDeleteMany of our ancestors were definitely hardy heroes, weren't they? And their whole house was the size of one of our rooms?!!!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the hardships ancestors had to endure!! They are the true American heros.
ReplyDeleteNow, that's some hardy stock! And rough times. Inspiring to read stories like this in one way, almost shaming in another way. We are so spoiled nowadays. And take it so for granted!
ReplyDeleteI can hardly begin to imagine the hardships... and living in a 10 X 10 house. (Is that the house behind Margaretta?)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have this information!
Possibly no one really knows for sure:)
DeleteThat had to have been tough going. It is such rugged country. I suppose fish and hunting gave them food but it still seemed risky. What a story of giving birth while waiting for the ride.
ReplyDeleteAmazing relatives you had! I love those stories and have such admiration for all of them! Looks like she was pregnant in the picture too. Of course, when was she not? LOL!
ReplyDeleteCould it be possible, that the father of Isak Yliniemi (1857-1932) was english ornitologist John Wolley (1823-1859), who was visiting Muoniovaara in 1853-1857, collecting bird eggs? He is said to get Yliniemi-named female servant pregnant before he returned back to England?
ReplyDeleteSee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wolley
Hi Connie,
ReplyDeleteI just saw the discussion (of 2019) of the theory that John Wolley was the father of Isak Yliniemi. This is very interesting! Has anyone settled the issue?
I came to the same tentative conclusion after exploring the website My Heritage. Several Swedish sources suggest Wolley had twin boys with a house servant Yliniemi from Muonio, but none of them cite a solid original source such as censuses or birth records. But Isak was born in Muonio at the "right" time, September 1857, soon after Wolley's departure. I doubt if there were more Yliniemi boys born at this time in the small town of Muonioni. I am beginning to doubt that there were twins (maybe someone in Sweden or Finland got confused by "twin" cities!). Isak does not show up at the Ellis Islands records on US immigration, but now I see (from the blogs) that this makes sense as he travelled another route into America.
I would greatly appreciate if anyone could confirm my conclusions. I am an Icelandic anthropologist, currently based in Uppsala, Sweden. I am writing a book partly on John Wolley's historic expedition to Iceland in 1858 (immediately after his Swedish/Finish expedition). I would like to mention the birth of his son, but I hesitate in the absence of solid evidence. The opinions of Isak's descendants matter much, of course.
Gísli Pálsson
gipalsson@gmail.com
Phone +354-6157762
A translation follows:
ReplyDeleteA week short of two months of arduous and eventful journey from Hull towards mysterious north, Ultima Thule, was finally coming to an end when and English doctor, nature researcher and ornithologist John Wolley and his travelling group arrived in the village of Moinionalusta. It was 10 June 1853. As the pitchblack riverboat landed on the sandy shores of Vasikanniemi, he squinted his eyes and marvelled at the bright light and the lack of darkness of the night. “The nightless night”,the bright light was shining brightly from the northern horizon and illuminated the remainder of the path like a guide towards the destination.
Sporty and upright Wolley, who had distinguished himself in rowing competitions and mountaineering as well as being published in scientific journals. He was also a tireless worker, who had already travelled Spain and Africa and roamed in Scotland’s and Iceland’s stony islands as well as having climbed Mont Blanc, was headed to Kengisi where he had been instructed by the local priest and botanist L.L Laestadius to go to the Merchant manor house of Moinovaara. The house and it’s master Benjamin Forstrom, were well known and respected as a hub in the North West of Lapland for travellers which offered great hospitality aplenty and the stories of it’s offering of burning strong booze had reached all the way down to Stockholm. Armed with recommendations from his friends, Wolley hired a room from Forstrom and set about to prepare his work immediately, which included the mating rituals, nesting habits and territories of birds as well as collecting their eggs.
The equipment he had were the height of latest technology of it’s time. He had an excellent pair of binoculars, precise rifle, climbing shoes and inflatable raft, which he used as his working platform in swampy terrains. He also had the good fortune to have friends and good able workers with him in to help him with his work.
The previous Master of the Moiniovaara’s merchant manor, Fredrik Knoblock who was of Norwegian-German birth, had had a religious conversion and given up trade believing that making profits from trading was sinful, became Wolley’s scribe for his work. Knoblockin’s sons Ludwig and Anton learned quickly to identify the birds and find their nests especially Ludwig, who in time became one of Wolley’s most important and trusted workers. He was patient and fearless and was always eager to start even the hardest graft. Wolley’s other important workers were; Pehr Eriksson Kyrö who was also known as Martin Pieter, Little-Heikki Särkijärvi and Abraham Niemi. Martin Pieti was an old Lapp (a person of Lapland), of whom [professori Alfred] Newton said that “ He had tremendous intelligent and spirit and manners of a gentleman”. He was the guardian of Ounastunturin and owner of a vast herd of reindeer, who was also in the habbit to observe birds and their nesting habits. Little-Heikki was a dependable, middle aged man with calm, even tempered Finn. Abraham Niemestä [Wolleyn] according to Wolley’s biographer, is a honest although not particularly gifted in other areas but an amazing sailor and oarsman. With the help of these friends, Wolley built an extensive egg collection over the years which was helped by many people of all ages.
ReplyDeleteThe egg collection reached from Northern Sweden Munankeruu ulotettiin koko Pohjois-Ruotsiin, Ruijaan ( place name( and Finnish Lapland all the way to Sodankyla Sattas and the Inarijarvi ( name of a Finnish of northern Finnish lake. The collectors were trained by Wolley himself, received three silver coins per nest they collected.
During the sex years, when the egg collection was curated, nearly 1000 eggs were collected each year. The egg collection left for Professor Alfred Newtonin to curate consists of 6076 numbered samples.
Each sample is carefully documented with the details of how and where it was found as well as very detailed diary like notes which Wolley’s closest friend professor Newton, who was also an artis and a fellow explorer of Muoniovaara, systematically curated into a comprehensive collection of eggs. He spent 50 years preparing the collection has the latin name of ”Ootheca Wolleyana”, is the written testament to John Wolleyn life’s work and probably one of the most unique pieces of work about ornithological studies and scientific research, which has stood the test of time. The scientific achievement associated with the research is the discovery of previously almost unknown nesting and territorial formation habits of several birds. Wolley discovered the ”korvarastaan” (Waxwing), kuukhaisen (kuukkeli, no translation for the species), ”pissihaukka” (The Lapland Owl), ”möhöttäjän” (pieni taivaanjaara, again no translation offered ), ”mustatiuttin eli riivatun” (ruff) and many other totlly unknown or very little species of birds. His studies led to more understanding of the nesting and territory forming habits of such species as red-curlew, Kangassiiriainen, stork and swan.
ReplyDeleteDuring Wolley’s time in Muoniovaara (1853–1857), Finland experienced famine years when the crop, grain and hay harvest was poor and the potato harvest froze because of frost and consequently people in the northern Finland’s inhabitants saw great changes to their diet; bread flour was mixed with beaten straw and ground tree bark. John Wolley wrote to his friend, Mr Wilmot, back in England and told about the famine. Mr Wilmot, who had followed Wolley’s progress with great interest, sent a substantial sum of money to be distributed amongst the suffering for the purpose of buying bread. The sumer of poor harvest was followed by a hard winter, which also affected Wolley. He wrote to his friend that “ I am less capable of my work than before due to the harsh climate”. However he observed that the famine did not affect the merchant Forstrom’s “borgeouis house” significantly. John Wolley travelled from his base in Muoniovaara extensively around Lapland and Ruija.
During the summer of 1856, Wolley took part in an international nature conservation conference in Ööland, where he lectured about the “Lemmings migration in Lapland pidettyyn kansainväliseen luonnonsuojelukongressiin, jossa hän esitelmöi ”Sopulien vaelluksesta Lapissa in1853, the effect that birds had on the migration and the behaviour of the lemmings” as well as “ The Utilisation of the Reindeer”
ReplyDeleteForsstrom himself had many sons and it was not particularly unusual that his boys and the servant girls formed relationships; some more troublesome than others. On an occasion the mistress of the house noticed that somebody was making nightly visits to the servant girl. As she couldn’t find out whether it was one of her own sons or another man, she set a trap for the nightly visitor; She put a broom handle behind the door so she could hear when the nightly visitor left. To her great surprise she saw that the respected and upstanding ornithologist, John Wolley, was the nightly visitor to the servant girl, Yliniemi’s chamber.
In August 1857 Wolley had to return back to England. He only intended to pop back to his home country but once back in England his health deteriorated and he became ill and never returned. Soon after his departure, the servant girl gave birth to twin boys. Although the boys were never officially acknowledged and registered as Wolley’s, he looked after the boys till his death and according to local knowledge,left a “reasonable” sum of money in his testament for his beloved. Little over two years after his departure from Muoniovaarasta, John Wolley died (20.11.1859) of ”brain illness”, which he had already suffered from for some time and had caused him memory loss and absentmindedness among other things. Wolley was only 36 years old and on the top of his career when he died. As a result it took his friend, painter and professor Ared Newton, to whom Wolley left his egg collection and notes, his whole life (50 years) before all of the eggs had been classified and curated and organised.
John Wolley’s lover married soon after his death to a local man named Oskar Anttila and moved to America with her husband taking her twin boys with them. After that the narrator, Amalia Tornberg has no further knowledge of their lives.
An extract from the diary entry from John Wolley shows the superstition about animals of the nature is a short entry here from the Ootheca Wolleanasta: ” § 378 – Sieppi , 14 July 1856. Five eggs from one nest, which was on the third branch of a dead pine. Ludwig and Sieppi shot many birds and the latter of the two even stalked for three hours. The old man began to think that it (the bird) was the devil, when the bird was finally shot down by Ludwig and was lying on the groud with it’s legs pointing up to the air, the old man shouted “ is it the species you thought it would be?”. The men had earlier talked about an old folk belief that there were two species of rough legged buzzards. Ludwig responded “ Yes, but it is still alie” and as he responded, the bird got up and flew away never to be seen again. The old man concluded that “it was the devil himself” of the bird.